


Cold

by TenSpencerRiedPlease



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Minor Cisco Ramon/Lisa Snart, No Plot/Plotless, Protective Leonard Snart, Random & Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 14:43:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17603288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TenSpencerRiedPlease/pseuds/TenSpencerRiedPlease
Summary: Barry shivers violently against the cold, arms wrapped around his waist. Iris shakes her head at him, “every year,” she says. “You do this every year and you never learn.”He gives her a dirty look, “this does not happen every year and its really cold this year. Its not fair,” he says, teeth chattering. He’s debating on just running home in an attempt to warm himself up when something heavy falls over his shoulders and he looks over. He shouldn’t be surprised to find Leo there, or his coat on Barry’s shoulders.“Leo, nice to see you’re still inexplicably impervious to the cold,” he says,





	Cold

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like writing something other than Marvel and I'm rewatching The Flash so.

Barry shivers violently against the cold, arms wrapped around his waist. Iris shakes her head at him, “every year,” she says. “You do this every year and you never learn.”

He gives her a dirty look, “this does not happen every year and its really cold this year. Its not fair,” he says, teeth chattering. He’s debating on just running home in an attempt to warm himself up when something heavy falls over his shoulders and he looks over. He shouldn’t be surprised to find Leo there, or his coat on Barry’s shoulders.

“Leo, nice to see you’re still inexplicably impervious to the cold,” he says, shaking his head as warmth returns to his extremities. He wraps the coat tighter around his shoulders because, despite not really being affected by the cold, Leo keeps one hell of a warm coat. Barry sometimes thinks that he keeps the coat only because Iris is right- though Barry will never admit it- about never dressing warm enough.

Leo smiles at him, lips curled up into what people who might not know him well would call an arrogant smirk. Its actually a smile he only gives to those he feels some kind of affection for and Barry smiles back, leaning into his side and grinning wider when Leo wraps an arm around him. Out of habit he looks over to Iris, who wrinkles her nose and leans away and that’s just rude. So Leo has something of a troubled past- he’s trying to do better and Barry thinks that’s what matters.

“Hello _Leo_ ,” Iris says, making the greeting sound extra bitchy in a way that’s entirely uncharacteristic to her usual personality. But she doesn’t like Leo and Joe likes him a hell of a lot less on account of having arrested him a few times. Barry mostly stays out of it or throws Wally under the bus for racing again. Iris cares more about that anyway.

Leo glares at her, “call me that again and see how it goes,” he tells her.

Iris narrows her eyes, “is that a threat, _Leonard_?”

“Can you two stop it at least until its confirmed that my fingers aren’t going to fall off?” Barry asks. “Because there’s no need for you guys to be this dramatic.”

“He’s the one who’s acting like an ass over a nickname,” Iris mumbles.

“And you’re the one who knows he doesn’t like being called that,” Barry points out. Used to be a nickname he used in childhood, and he didn’t exactly have a shining example of a good childhood.

“You call him that,” Iris says like that matters.

“Yeah, and I call you lots of embarrassing nicknames Cisco would love but you’ve paid me to keep secret,” Barry counters.

“Oh, do tell,” Leo adds, looking genuinely intrigued but Barry isn't going to give him fodder to insult Iris. They both need to get over themselves.

Iris crosses her arms over her chest, “you can do better than a guy with the last name  _Snart_.”

Leo squints at her, head titled to the side. “I’ve committed a lot of crimes, and my last name is what makes me undatable? Cops and their kids must be loosening up these days,” he drawls and Barry sighs.

“Iris, his last name is irrelevant. Leo, stop antagonizing Iris. Everyone, lets just get home and make hot chocolate,” he says.

“That’s wholesome,” Leo says, shaking his head. Iris gives him another dirty look but it wasn’t an insult even if it sort of sounded like one. Leo just sucks at emotions and in this case that was a compliment. As much as he claims to hate all things wholesome, like Disney because apparently he hates _fun_ , he does find Barry’s sunny disposition something fresh and new. And given the life he’s had Barry thinks that maybe that’s a good thing, having someone in it that isn’t either part of some criminal underground or someone who’s suffered so much there’s no real coming back from it like Mick and Lisa.

*

Joe gives Barry a _look_  and Wally jumps in fast, “I have raced nothing for months,” he says fast and Barry gives _him_  a dirty look.

“Nice to see you on more... amicable terms,” Leo says to Joe, lips curled up a little and Barry sighs, resigned to this going terribly as usual.

“Can’t we just... have a nice conversation?” he asks.

“You ever kill anyone?” Wally asks because he doesn’t know what the hell a nice conversation is apparently.

“Classified,” Leo says and Joe gives Barry _another_  look because they all know what that means, including Wally given how interested he suddenly is in Leo’s presence, but Barry already knows that story and he’s not stupid, he asked enough to confirm the truthfulness of Leo’s answers. But it was Lewis or Lisa and Barry didn’t even need the rest to know who he’d pick and why. He’s see the scars too, heard about Lisa’s night terrors from Cisco, and he’s seen the emotional damage Lewis caused to Leo. So no, he doesn’t think Leo was _right_  to kill his father, but in the moment he had no other choice unless he wanted his sister dead. But Joe doesn’t know that and neither does anyone else minus Lisa- he never got caught for it.

“I said _nice_  conversation, not whatever Wally was thinking,” he says. “I got a job in Star City!” he adds but he doesn’t add that its with Queen Consolidated on account of everyone hating Oliver more than they hate Leo. They dated briefly in high school. Things went terribly wrong, he bonded with Laurel about it when Oliver’s stupid ass got shipwrecked on an island. He was recovered a week later but still, it must have made him humble because now he’s only annoyingly angsty instead of the world’s biggest hemorrhoid.

Everyone in the room goes tense and Barry sighs. He knew this was going to happen but he figured he’d at least mostly escape it given that _murder_  was the last apparently appropriate subject but he guesses not. “And you didn’t think to tell me earlier?” Leo asks.

Joe gives him an unimpressed look before turning to give _Barry_  an unimpressed look. “You didn’t think to tell _me_?” he asks, looking hurt.

“I mean, I didn’t think I’d get the job,” he says. Especially when _Oliver_  ended up being the interviewer. That had been the world’s most awkward interview and Felicity was one hundred percent confused the whole time. But he _did_  get the job and it pays well and he’s always liked Star City so he took it. Also, less gruesome work than anything out of a police station even if that’d been the goal initially. He isn’t exactly sure _what_  he’s doing there, but he figures there’s probably a couple cool company secrets at least. Like, if they need a forensic scientist there’s definitely some kind of cool things to learn. Or he’ll have a really stupid job like analyzing break-ins that only happen once every two hundred years under a blood moon but still.

“What job?” Iris asks, walking in with hot chocolate.

“Barry is ditching us for Star City,” Leo tells her, pulling a cup from her hand and earning a dirty look for it because that was definitely for Barry.

“When were you going to tell us _that_?” Iris asks and Barry sighs.

“I did, just now. Anyone excited for me?” he asks, frowning.

Its Leo who reacts first, placing a hand on his thigh. “Congratulations,” he says even though Barry can tell he isn’t much happy about it. But the fact that he’s trying is nice.

“This is a terrible idea,” Iris says. “Take me with you.” Against his best efforts Barry gives in and starts laughing.

*

Leo tracks his movements, something Barry notices he does with most everyone but its more pronounced if he’s the only one in the room. “Star City, hmm?” he asks and Barry stops.

“I only just found out,” he says in his defense.

“I know, otherwise you would have at least told Iris and given how shocked she was I’d say she was in the dark.”

She was, because he only found out a week ago and he happened to have gotten lodging two days ago though Oliver had very awkwardly offered his house which, _no_. Hell no. But with a place to live it was more of a sure thing so he thought he’d tell everyone.

“This doesn’t mean anything, for us I mean,” Barry says. Leo sighs and looks away, contemplating so Barry walks over and curls up beside him. “Seriously, if anything was going to ruin our relationship it probably would have been finding out you killed your father,” he points out. That’s not an easy piece of information to take in let alone keep secret but Leo shakes his head.

“Soon as I knew about Henry and the way you’ve never wavered in your faith for him I knew you could handle that. You’re not, sorry, c _oppish._ You understand grey areas. Long distance relationships, I don’t know about that,” he murmurs.

Barry snakes an arm around Leo’s waist, “we’ll be fine. Iris though, she’ll die without me,” he says.

Leo snorts, “more like you’ll die without her.”

*

“I’m just saying, the problem would technically be solved,” Mick says. “You’re a bitch when you’re in a bad mood.”

“I agree, you’re whiny when you’re sad. I liked you better cold hearted,” Lisa says but its in good fun.

Cisco looks incredibly awkward in the center of the conversation but Leo feels no guilt for making him feel that way. Cisco is officially dead to him as a person on account of dating his sister and she might think of him as a boyfriend but he thinks of Cisco as a potential heart breaker.

“Um. Barry might go for it,” he adds eventually, when Lisa makes it obvious that she expects him to agree with her.

“We can do a ceremonial housewarming fire,” Mick says and Leo shakes his head.

“We are never doing that again Mick, not after you almost turned Lisa’s guinea pig into food,” he says. “Or the time my eyebrows got burnt off.”

“There was also the time I lost six collectable action figures,” Cisco says. It wasn’t the fire that destroyed them, Leo stole them and sold them for money and blamed Mick’s fire, split the profit with him for his troubles and those stupid dolls were shockingly expensive.

“My favorite leather jacket,” Lisa adds.

“And three separate parkas,” Leo says. “Barry probably doesn’t want to potentially lose pets, expensive collectables, and he can’t afford to lose coats when he barely seems to have any.” He’s tempted to give Barry his given that he can’t seem to remember to dress warm on any other occasion.

Mick looks unimpressed but Cisco grins, “I think you should go for it,” he says.

“Cisco knows Barry best,” Lisa points out. “And if he thinks this is a good idea its a good idea.”

That is absolutely _not_  what that means.

*

“Hey Barry,” Cisco says, walking into his room looking pleased with himself. Something has gone terribly wrong if that’s the case but Barry doesn’t say anything about it. Yet.

“Hey Cisco. Leo,” he adds, smiling when Leonard walks in.

“Yeah, we’re all here, want to love in with Snart?” Cisco asks, earning a downright _murderous_  look from Leo for his efforts. He shrinks in on himself a little and all but runs to hide behind Barry. “I should have waited for Lisa to show up she’s a much better shield,” he hisses.

Barry sighs, “was this his idea?” he asks because that’s kind of a big step and if its only something _Cisco_  decided was a good plan...

He knows right away that’s not the case- try as Leo might Barry has learned to read him well and his asking if Leo was the one who thought that up instead of affirming that that’s fine has resulted in a blow to the ego.

“Oh, what’s got you looking so dismayed baby brother?” Lisa asks, making a late appearance. Cisco immediately flees to go hide behind her.

“I’m older than you, Lisa,” Leo points out.

“Irrelevant when you’re mentally a toddler. Care to share what’s on the mind?” she asks.

“It was Mick’s idea. And if he suggests a housewarming fire tell him no.”

Yeah, Barry didn’t need that bit of advice to know not to let Mick light shit on fire. “I mean, if you want to, I wouldn’t mind. I didn’t bring it up because I know you like your independence, and you live with Lisa so I didn't think you’d want to leave her behind,” he says earnestly. They lean on each other too much probably, but they’re also the only ones who understand what the other has been through so Barry leaves it. Its not like they have a super relatable childhood- they need _someone_  to talk about it with, might as well be each other.

“I can leave Lisa with Mick, Better than Cisco,” he says, giving Cisco a _look_. Cisco ducks behind Lisa again, ignoring that his entire ass is not behind her at all.

“I don’t need Mick to babysit,” Lisa tells him.

“I would also prefer Mick not babysitting,” Cisco says.

“I think it’d be kinda funny,” Barry offers, earning an approving smile from Leo.

“Move in with Barry and leave Mick to himself in whatever rathole he digs up,” Lisa says.

*

Barry sits on the floor because he has no couch and refused to let Leo go _steal_  one because apparently that’s possible. “This apartment looks like men live in it,” Lisa says.

Iris nods, “yeah, it does. Worst thing about it is that they think its acceptable to live this way,” she says, sounding pained.

Cisco frowns, “men _do_  live here,” he points out.

“You two need more furniture, the TV looks sad propped on a box,” she says.

“I have some things you can have in the truck,” Joe says like he didn’t conveniently buy a bunch of stuff just to give to them when its too late for Barry to refuse.

“You didn’t need to do that,” Barry says.

Joe looks around and winces, “I hate to say it but they girls are right, this apartment looks like its populated by a couple of frat boys with no knowledge on how to take care of themselves. I know you know how to take care of yourself. And you,” Joe points at Leo, “you should find legal ways to take care of yourself.”

Leo laughs, “no promises, West.”

**Author's Note:**

> [My writing Tumblr](https://tenspencerriedplease.tumblr.com/)


End file.
